The conventional wisdom among those who cover the Redskins
has been that Arrington was a dead Skin walking for most of the 2005 season. One of the sources for this supposition was Arrington himself--he was quoted in a December article in the Washington Times saying that he didn't think he'd be back in Washington in '06.
The main reason for this line of thinking has been the $6.5 million roster
bonus that is due Arrington if he is still on the team in June. That is a big
number for a player who started only part of the year and, when he did start,
didn't play in many defensive packages.

His $12 million salary cap charge is a big number, too. That
number, however, is less of a factor in any decision to keep him or cut him
since the cap hit for releasing or trading him would be right around the same
$12 million.

Arrington could decide to reduce that number by renegotiating
his deal and we hear that this is what the Redskins would like to have happen. Discussions
towards that aim have not been going very smoothly, but the fact that talks are
going on at all is a good indication.

Failure to reach an accord on a new contract, however, does
not necessarily doom Arrington's future with the Redskins. There are reports
that he has a couple of powerful backers in the organization who could lobby to
retain him even at his current price.

Stay tuned to this one. As always seems to be the case with LaVar, things could get very interesting.

The conventional wisdom among those who cover the Redskins has been that Arrington was a dead Skin walking for most of the 2005 season. One of the sources for this supposition was Arrington himself--he was quoted in a December article in the Washington Times saying that he didn't think he'd be back in Washington in '06. The main reason for this line of thinking has been the $6.5 million roster bonus that is due Arrington if he is still on the team in June. That is a big number for a player who started only part of the year and, when he did start, didn't play in many defensive packages.

His $12 million salary cap charge is a big number, too. That number, however, is less of a factor in any decision to keep him or cut him since the cap hit for releasing or trading him would be right around the same $12 million.

Arrington could decide to reduce that number by renegotiating his deal and we hear that this is what the Redskins would like to have happen. Discussions towards that aim have not been going very smoothly, but the fact that talks are going on at all is a good indication.

Failure to reach an accord on a new contract, however, does not necessarily doom Arrington's future with the Redskins. There are reports that he has a couple of powerful backers in the organization who could lobby to retain him even at his current price.